Members of All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Syracuse are rallying behind a fellow parishioner named Jose who was arrested by immigration agents on Friday. It’s the latest ICE enforcement action targeting undocumented residents in Central New York.
Pastor of All Saints, Father Fred Daley knows Jose and his family as part of the church’s faithful Ecuadorian community.
“Jose and his family join us for liturgy every week. Jose is a lector proclaiming the gospel in Spanish," he said.
Jose last translated the reading on January 11th. Five days later, he and another man named Adrian were arrested by ICE agents as they left a job site on the city’s east side. Both are undocumented. WAER News is using only first names to protect them from further retribution.
Parishioner Charles Clinton considers Jose a friend who’s always helping those in need with household repairs. He and his family also do all maintenance at the church.
“We're a parish of refugees and immigrants. And one thing we say is ‘all are welcome,’ and truly Jose embodies that," Clinton said.
Pastoral Associate Meg Ksander said Jose's arrest and detention are very concerning.
“These are our friends. We worship together," she said. "We celebrate birthdays together. There's a new baby in this family that is now left without his papa. That hurts. It hurts all of us.”
Ksander said parishioners are sending donations to cover legal fees and bond in hopes of freeing Jose. Others have visited him at the ICE detention center in Batavia. But Pastor Daley said the rest of the Ecuadorian community plus many in their African congregation are terrified.
“We don't necessarily know who's documented or undocumented," he said. "But we do know that the community is filled with fear, and when the phone rings, we wonder. I mean, they come from war-torn areas. Who'd ever think in the United States that people are living in fear of being pulled out of their houses?”
Daley said refugees and undocumented immigrants have become scapegoats. He said the church doesn't demonize the ICE agents.
"It's the system, it's the structure, it's the policies that are evil," he said. "Those policies need to be challenged.
And it may cause some suffering. Silence in the midst of such evil puts ourselves on the side of the oppressor."
Parishioner Katie Clinton said they won’t stay silent.
“Now is the time. We all need to step up," she said. "We all need to use the voices that we have and are protected by our Constitution to say enough is enough. This absolutely must stop.”
By coming together in church and at rallies, she says she’s convinced good will overcome evil. Her husband, Charles Clinton, said the arrest is ironic as the community marked Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
"To think about how wrong we've gone as a nation," he said. "If we had stuck to those ideals of social justice, anti-war, and service to the most vulnerable, the poor."
